Historical grades cover up to five years through the selected term. Grade sorting prioritizes courses with at least 100 letter grades.
Introduction to International Relations covers major global issues since WWII, focusing on state interactions and analytical tools.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Students must attend lectures, complete readings, and participate in discussions to succeed on exams covering multiple choice and essay sections.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Introduction to Political Theory explores core problems of political life, including obligation, justice, equality, and liberty, through ancient and modern sources.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Michelle Schwarze: Students face dense, difficult readings, but graded assignments like in-class essays and multiple-choice exams are relatively easy, with opportunities to revise essays.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026POLISCI 170 introduces political science research methods, teaching students to develop research questions, design studies, and apply quantitative and qualitative tools.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Jessica Weeks: The course involves occasional short papers and heavy reliance on lectures and memorization. Reviewers report that tests are fairly challenging and getting an A requires extra effort, while projects may be graded toughly.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Fall 2025An honors introduction to comparative politics focusing on national-level institutional analysis and systematic comparison.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course is heavy on readings and features difficult assignments that require significant effort throughout the semester.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Fall 2025 · limited samplePOLISCI 199 offers directed study projects for freshmen and sophomores arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Introduction to Political Psychology examines the psychological aspects of political behavior among individuals in various contexts.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Jonathan Renshon: Exams are largely focused on the readings rather than lectures.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2023–Fall 2025 · limited samplePOLITICAL CHOICE AND STRATEGY introduces decision analysis, strategic interaction, and voting systems.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Fall 2025POLISCI 305 examines the psychological and social drivers of voting behavior, current electoral trends, and the role of voters in governance.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviewers found coursework not too difficult, requiring attendance and attention for good grades.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Fall 2025Covers principles, procedures, and problems of the US Congress legislative process.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Barry Burden: Exams are tough and require referring to lecture themes that are not present in the textbook.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025Criminal Law and Justice covers substantive and procedural criminal law, constitutional amendments, and legal proof using a case-based approach.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Howard Schweber: The workload includes an overwhelming number of readings and three take-home partner exams that determine the grade. Students report that the volume of material is significant and requires careful management.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2023–Fall 2025POLISCI 315 is a legislative internship providing practical experience in a legislative office, policy research, and readings on the legislative process.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Students report low difficulty and minimal weekly time commitments, typically 3 to 8 hours, consisting of discussion posts and final projects based on internship work.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026POLITICAL ECONOMY OF DEVELOPMENT introduces theories of economic development and examines regional experiences and international factors.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Examines the paradox of military power in democracies, exploring civilian-military relations and societal impacts.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025Introduction to the politics, political economy, history, and theory of European integration.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course features heavy readings and is graded primarily on four to five major assignments, including tough, heavily studied midterms and essay exams.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2024POLISCI 342 explores state-building, examining how states form, maintain power, and influence society through political, economic, and historical lenses.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2025–Fall 2025 · limited samplePOLISCI 347 examines the causes, strategies, consequences, and counterterrorism policies related to terrorism.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Andrew Kydd: Students must complete a 4000-word term paper, though they have ample time to work on it and seek help.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2024–Fall 2025Examines the varying roles and status of lawyers across countries and their impact on citizens' access to justice.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2024–Fall 2024 · limited samplePOLISCI 350 analyzes the interaction of politics and economics in the international arena, focusing on trade, monetary, and financial relations in developed and developing economies.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Reviewers describe the workload as heavy, with one noting exams are eight-page papers and another calling them long. A third reviewer found midterms involved writing and were unclear, emphasizing the need to read and attend.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025Examines the intellectual origins and evolution of American political thought from the Puritans to the Civil War.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2024–Spring 2026 · limited samplePOLISCI 369 examines environmental political thought paradigms and their links to social inequity and political action.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
POLITICAL VIOLENCE introduces the study of political violence in the modern world, examining its causes, consequences, and resolution.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
POLISCI 400 is an umbrella course for variable credit topic courses, including summer forums and intensive sessions.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical coursework was manageable with attendance, featuring optional reading not tested on exams.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026POLISCI 401 explores current issues in Political Science as a topics course.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Erica Simmons, Jessica Weeks, Katherine Cramer: Workload varies by instructor; Erica Simmons offered minimal homework and study guides, while Jessica Weeks required extensive writing for the final. Katherine Cramer’s readings were accessible despite seeming daunting.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026POLISCI 405 examines the structure of state government and the politics of public policy-making across the fifty states.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Historical examination of American constitutional thinking regarding government powers and structures from founding to present.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Howard Schweber: Schweber’s course involves dense lectures requiring extensive note-taking and long take-home exams that demand consistent attendance.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2025An examination of the American judicial system, focusing on court structure, process, and the political impact of judicial decisions on public policy.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
A historical review from 2006 by Bert Kritzer provides a quality rating of 5, though the comment field is empty.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2023–Fall 2025POLISCI 470 examines First Amendment principles, cases, and literature, focusing on historical and contemporary controversies.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course features heavy reading expectations and three major papers that require significant preparation. While some find the legal writing challenging, Fischer provides advice and availability to support student success.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2025Intensive study and research in selected problems within the constituent fields of political science.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Fall 2024POLISCI 681 is a Senior Honors Thesis course focused on political science thesis research and writing.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
POLISCI 682 is a senior honors thesis course focusing on political science thesis research and writing.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history